Chapter 135 The Cave Passage (1/2)
”Please slowly, Master Xiaoyue,” said Xu Gu, his palms clasped together before his chest, ”What did you see inside the cave?”
As she frowned dejectedly, Xiaoyue began to relate to the rest of the company of their encounter with the sea of mutated vampire bats. ”Oh no, what shall we do now?” One of the female disciples cried in dismay.
”Heh heh heh heh!” A sneering giggle rang suddenly. It was Liu Chengfeng of the Order of the Silvery Moon. He was eyeing Qin Xinyan, the student from the School of the Savage Flames, contemptuously. ”Brother Xiao, Brother Ye, and I were at the front, helping to clear our way,” he said loudly with a wicked grin, ”Brother Qin, you were retreating with Brother Lu beside you. Did you fail to notice him, a person and an adult, disappearing too?”
Qin Xinyan retorted with a cold glare, embittered, ”Are you accusing me? It was chaotic in there! How did I know that he was with me? Are you accusing me of not saving him on purpose?”
”I do not know whether if it was on purpose,” Liu Chengfeng hissed vilely and said, ”but I do know that the School of the Savage Flames and the Priory of the Mystic Winds are hardly the best of allies. Surely it would be in the School's favor to first eliminate the potential heir to the seat of the Sect Leader of the Priory, no? Heh heh heh heh!”
”You!” Qin Xinyan snarled. But he did not lunge at his accuser. Instead, he recollected himself and began to snicker viciously. ”What about Lady Xiaoyue?” He barked loudly, for the benefit of everyone in the company. ”She was acting as rearguard during our retreat? Are you accusing her of this treachery as well?”
”Please, quarrel no more, gentlemen,” Xiao Chen spoke suddenly, ”What matters now is the rescue of Brother Lu. I had managed to observe a magical barrier, one that is created by all of our collective strength, might be enough to repel these monster bats despite their ferocious size and speed.”
But there was no way of knowing if Lu Jianxing still lived. For all they know, he might already be dead. But Xiao Chen had specifically broached the issue in order to rekindle the embers of hope for the company to keep going on. Moreover, he wished to convince the company to move together to prevent further deaths. Any more casualties would do little to improve the chances of his and his friends' own survival.
Qin Xinyan and Liu Chengfeng fell silent, although that did not stop them from casting scathing glares at each other. With scornful chuckles from each of them, their squabble was ended. Despite Xiao Chen's relatively obscure origins, the recent prominence of his name was enough to sway the hearts of the company that most of them agreed to his suggestion.
”I am inclined to agree with you, Brother Xiao,” said Xu Gu, lending further weight to Xiao Chen's voice, ”We must try to find Brother Lu as soon as possible before leaving this place. There is no need for further quarrel.”
He assumed the leadership of the company, leading the rest of the sixteen behind him as they reentered the cave. Once inside, the company pooled together their powers to erect a magical force field. For all their viciousness and fury, the scourge of the mutated bats could do nothing to penetrate the defenses of the stout magical shield that the company poured in all their might to sustain.
But the bloodthirsty scourge of darkness was hardly undaunted by the magical force field; a savage horde beyond number, they kept pouring on the company with unstoppable vehemence. Wave upon wave, the black tide of carnage rained onslaught upon the magical barrier, testing its limits and hoping to find a chink or a crack that might undo the entire shield. The company could barely look through the dark blur of wings and torso that hammered upon the force field with single-minded determination. Yet still, the magical shield remained intact, much to the comfort of the few female disciples whose face had already gone pale with fright and horror.
Xiao Chen stayed close to Luo Shangyan. He was ready in case the magical barrier faltered; with two of its string recovered, the Fuxi Zither would allow him enough time to make off safely with his friends. At the head of the company were Xiaoyue and Xu Gu who advanced abreast of each other boldly, undeterred by the never-ending surges of the bats' assailment. They killed as many of the bats they could as they continued their pace, while not forgetting to call for Lu Jianxing.
Yet for almost an hour they pressed on, the company had found no traces of Lu Jianxing, having instead attracted more mutated vampire bats. But everyone began to share the same dreadful notion, although none dared to voice it: if Lu Jianxing had survived earlier, he could not be possibly alive now. He would have long been gnawed to death by these cannibalistic bats.
”This cannot continue! There's no end to the bats' attack! Our True Energy would be utterly spent if we're to go on!” Xiao Yue's voice resounded from the front of the company over the din of the multitudes of chiropterans battering unceasingly on the magical shield. It was in fact the thoughts of everyone in the company, that the search for Lu Jiangxing had become nothing but a lost cause.
Swiftly, everyone agreed to her proposal to retreat. But Liu Chengfeng griped with disdain. ”We were only here at your summons, Lady Xiaoyue. And now you wish to abandon Lu Jianxing?”
But everyone was hardly surprised by his outburst: the Order of the Silvery Moon and the Priory of the Mystic Winds were close allies and both Liu Chengfeng and Lu Jianxing were good friends to each other. It was only understandable that Liu Chengfeng did not want to call off the search.
”Please do not misunderstand, Brother Liu,” said Xiaoyue from the front, ”We've canvassed this entire area. Brother Lu would have responded to our calls if he is around. He is not here, that much is plain. Staying here will not help the search save to attract more of these rabid vermins!”